North Carolina’s current charter schools and universal voucher program reveal striking similarities to the Brown v. Board of Education era, raising concerns

RALEIGH, NC, UNITED STATES, May 29, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- North Carolina is not new to voucher programs and policies that promote school segregation. The recent 70th Anniversary of the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education motivates a close look at current educational policies that contribute to segregation and raise questions about the role of charter schools and school vouchers.

Desegregation in North Carolina met fierce resistance with 1956 legislation based on recommendations of The Pearsall Plan allowing states to fund private school tuition through “Education Expense Grants” for families who wanted to avoid integrated schools. This was the state’s first voucher program. It took more than a decade for the program to be struck down as unconstitutional in 1969.

Shortly after, in 1971, Julius Chambers, a civil rights lawyer from Charlotte successfully argued Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education before the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices upheld lower court rulings that granted federal courts the power to order busing to force racial integration. The ruling had the effect of ending government-sanctioned segregation in Southern schools.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools began a busing program that resulted in the majority of students attending racially desegregated schools between 1971 and 2002. Other districts followed suit, implementing various desegregation strategies including introducing magnet programs to attract diverse student populations to formerly segregated schools.

Research has shown tremendous benefits. School desegregation led to dramatic increases in graduation rates, college going, adult health status, and adult income and economic power for Black students and Latino students, and an increase in years of schooling that was sufficient to close the Black-White educational attainment gap. What’s more, ALL students benefited. Initially feared academic declines never materialized, and students experienced the academic, social, critical thinking and problem-solving benefits of learning in a diverse setting.

But in 2002, the federal 4th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an earlier ruling in Belk v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education that essentially dissolved the Swann desegregation order, ruling that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools stop considering race in assignment plans. As a result, segregation increased almost immediately. By 2022, more than 47% of CMS schools had more than 90% students of color, compared to 1% in 1989 and 16% in 2002 (1).

In 1996, charter schools became legal in North Carolina, further fueling resegregation as these schools tend to be much more racially isolated than traditional public schools. State law does not allow a school’s impact on student segregation to be considered when evaluating applications or renewals. Rural communities, with fewer overall students, see some of the sharpest segregation effects.

Halifax County is in Northeastern North Carolina, one of the state’s many rural counties. Halifax is home to Hobgood Charter School, a former private school founded in 1969 in response to desegregation efforts. It became a charter school in 2019 with demographic characteristics strikingly different from that of Halifax County Schools, the district in which it is located. In 2023-24, Halifax County Schools enrolled 79% Black students and 4% White students. Hobgood Charter School has 13% Black students and 79% White students. That’s a 75-point difference in the percentage of White students in the district schools and Hobgood Charter School. The county’s other charter school, KIPP Halifax College Preparatory, has demographics similar to the district, with 85% Black and 4% White students (2).

In the western part of the state, Henderson County has two charter schools. Although the demographic differences aren’t as sharp as in Halifax County, the charter schools enroll a much larger percentage of White students and smaller percentages of Hispanic and Black students. Students in Henderson County Schools are 60% White, 29% Hispanic, and 4% Black. The Mountain Community charter school has 84% White, 10% Hispanic, and 1% Black students while FernLeaf Community charter school has 87% White, 6% Hispanic, and 1% Black students (3).

Currently, demographic characteristics of students receiving vouchers in North Carolina are not publicly reported at the school level. However, aggregate data on voucher recipients shows that the percentage of White students participating in the program increased from 27% in 2014-15 to 63% in 2023-24. During the same period, the percentage of Black students decreased from 51% to 19% (4).

In 2023, North Carolina expanded eligibility for vouchers to families of all income levels and no longer requires prior public school enrollment. These changes resulted in record applications for next year, the majority (55%) from families with incomes $115,000/year and higher. And nearly one in five applications came from families making more than $259,000/year.

Based on current trends, the newest voucher recipients are expected to further increase school segregation, adding religious segregation to racial segregation. Back in 1956, The Pearsall legislation allowed only non-religious schools to receive state dollars. North Carolina’s current voucher program removed that restriction; in 2022-23 nearly 90% of all voucher funds went to religious schools.

North Carolina’s backsliding is accelerating with the recent voucher expansion and growing numbers of charter schools. With legislation as a primary driver of the backslide, the only way individuals can slow or stop it is through action at the voting booth.

1. Urban Institute Data Explorer: https://educationdata.urban.org/data-explorer
2. NC Statistical Profile, Tables 10.1 & 37:http://apps.schools.nc.gov/ords/f?p=145:1
3. NC Statistical Profile, Tables 10.1 & 37:http://apps.schools.nc.gov/ords/f?p=145:1
4. Opportunity Scholarship Summary of Data: https://www.ncseaa.edu/opportunity-scholarship-summary-of-data/

Heather Koons
Public Schools First NC
info@publicschoolsfirstnc.org
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